what's the SH site ?Quote:
Originally Posted by shytalk
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what's the SH site ?Quote:
Originally Posted by shytalk
I assume the Scouse House site - anything goes on the SSC too (Skyscraper city)
oh, ok :)
Hey Brian, don,t stop now I,ve got your stories circulated in the "News of the World" mate, you can,t let me down now!
Keep at it matey.
NOOOOOOOOO anywhere but there!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ged
I was reffering to the Sailors Home.
It seemed to be a long,cold winter that year and events that happened made it seem even bleaker.
Frank and Veras' little Eden was ruined in a single night when Vera was subjected to an horrific attack on her way home from work.
The cottage they lived in was down a dark ,unlit, cinder path called Brunt Lane.Allerton Cemetery was one side of the lane and the long railway wall was on the other side.It was dark when Vera entered the lane but she knew it well and had done the journey many times.There was an iron railing fence along the whole length of the cemetery and,as Vera made her way home,she saw the black shape of someone amongst the gravestones,walking parallel to her.She walked a little faster,and so did the shadow.Fear gripped her and she started to run,and the shadow ran with her.She reached her gate and had just got on the garden path when she was grabbed and assaulted.The path was too long for her screams to be heard from the house.I cannot begin to imagine the terror that she felt,that once beautiful little cottage had now become the place of nightmares.
The whole family was shattered by the awful event,Vera became withdrawn and suffered badly with her health,Frank was riven with guilt to think that he had brought them to that spot.Within weeks ,they had left for safer parts and I slowly lost touch with them.I have never forgotten that terrible night and every time I read of such attacks,I feel grieved for the women who suffer them remembering the effect it had on Vera.
One foggy February day,we were cleaning out the shop windows when this middle aged man came in ,he looked as though he had seen something terrible.Sid asked him if he was alright and the man shook his head and cried,"They're all dead,killed",his body was wracked by his sobs.We came to him ,thinking there had been a crash........................There had ,in Munich.
The Busby Babes were killed in an airplane crash .I was'nt a football fan but I felt saddened by that catastrophic crash.This was a time when Manchester United ruled the game,Matt Busby was the greatest manager in the world,the team had lost players like Duncan Edwards,Roger Byrne ,Tommy Taylor and David Pegg.Eight died, and Bobby Charlton and Matt Busby both suffered devastating injuries.The sporting rivalries between the clubs took a back seat and fans everywhere went into mourning for the loss to the game.
One of the problems that butchers shops have is that people like to buy pink or red meat.This is not much of a difficulty with frozen meat because the cuts are usually displayed on a refrigerated counter and retain that essential colouring so beloved of the buyer.Fresh meat,however is different,it quickly turns brown when on the counter,we used to call this "erk".The meat is actually better this way for the blood will haved drained away ,rendering the joint more tender.Sadly ,that is not how the customer sees it,and so on a Saturday afternoon ,it was our job to "work the erk"; that is ,convincing the customer that brown was better.There was an old couple who used to come in late every Saturday afternoon,they always liked a nice shoulder of lamb,frozen of course;I had a counter full of brown ,prime welsh lamb.I persuaded the to buy the biggest,brownest joint on the counter,with the promise that if they did'nt like it they could bring it back on Monday and I would refund their money.
The joint cost them 7/6d (37.3p),I was on £1/10s (£1.50p) per week,I spent a bad weekend worrying ,Kearns did'nt do refunds ,if they did'nt like it I would have to pay them myself!
Midday Monday they came in to see me...................they had enjoyed it so much that they asked us to be sure that they could have the same every weekend.So pleased were they that they invited Harry and me to tea on Wednesday,we took them up on their offer and found them to a wonderfully eccentric couple,he played the organ and she sang .We spent a few wintry Wednesday afternoons there.
Sometimes we would pull a few crafty stunts to get rid of unwanted cuts of meat,not that the boss knew about it .Like this for instance,we used to have an American who was a regular customer,he called mincemeat "chipped beef" and would never buy any from the display."You never know what the hell you guys' put in that stuff" he would say.No ,our American friend would get us to slice a nice chunk of rump steak and put it through the mincer.......which was in the back room.I would put a piece of shin beef through the mincer,at least three times......he always came back for more.
That prime bit of beefsteak would,invariably end up in the grille pan for yours trulys lunch.
Lunch breaks seemed to last forever,Harry and I would go to Woolworths, to flirt with the girls,a hopeless endeavour,but we never gave up trying.All the ones we fancied were already taken,and those that were'nt did'nt fancy us.
There was a girl in Hales cake shop though,Anne was her name,I thought she was lovely and could'nt imagine that she would like some one like me.Most days the girls in our shop would ask me to get cakes when I went to the bank.I would stand in the queue, looking moonfaced across the fondant fancies as this little angel smilingly served her customers.One of the older ladies usually served me ,but I only had eyes for Anne.
There was an Anne who worked in Woolies,I was unaware of her existence until her supervisor told me that she liked me to come in everyday,I asked her why and she told me that this Anne fancied me and that everytime I went in she would throw herself into a frenzy of scrubbing and polishing on the counter she worked on."If you came here for longer ,she'd 'ave the 'ole shop gleaming" I was embarassed,life is so unfair,why can't you fancy the right person,and the right person fancy you?
It was about this time that Harry started to have trouble with his teeth.I thoght he was a wimp,he would'nt go to the dentists even thought his back teeth were giving him real gyp.
Bernie was progressing faster than Harry or me,we were scally's ,always out for a laugh and a joke,Bernie seemed about ten years older than we two,even though he was the same age.I liked him though and had some fun times out of work with him,but at work ,he was very serious.
We were working in the back room one day,me making dripping( a very technical job,boiling all the fat and suet,yuckkkk!) Bernie , boning a shoulder of frozen beef.We were talking about this and that,me stirring the fatty lumps and Bernie struggling with the big collar bone.He was pulling the knife along the big bone when his hand slipped,and plunged the knife deep into his stomach.We both went very quiet,Bernie looking at me,shock on his face and the handle of the knife sticking out of his belly.Sid and Joey took him in hand and the ambulance was there within minutes.Bernie was critically ill and was off work for a long time .We went to see him at hospital and he was on sticks for some time after that.
In the meantime,Harry and I were drawn closer ,our friendship deepening,we liked the same things,were always chasing ,but never catching,girls,and had the same sense of humour.But those bloody teeth of his,his mouth was beginning to pong and he was in constant pain.One day he picked something out his mouth,he was looking at it ,it was like a piece of rotting wood."What the hells that ?" I asked," I think it's my backtooth" he replied.
Next day he came to work and his jaw was really swollen,I told him he must have a gumboil or something because it looked very sore and red.He still would'nt go and get it seen to,the smell got so bad that Sid told him he'd better get something done about because the girls were complaining that it made them feel sick.
He did'nt come to work next morning,his mother turned up about mid morning,her face a picture of sadness and distress,she came to me in the back room,for mine was the only face that she knew."E's in 'ospital Brian lad,Arry's in 'ospital,'is jawbone cum right through 'is skin"She broke down crying and we took her upstairs where the girls made her a cup of tea.She told us that they were operating on him that day,it was'nt a gumboil ,it was cancer.Even now ,50 years later I can still feel the shock of those words.
Harry ,the most handsome lad I knew, was being eaten away by cancer.
He was in the Southern Hospital and I went to see him right after the operation,his Mum and family were there and she asked me if I wouild go with her to see the doctor,he wanted a word with me because I was his best mate.
He explained that they had had to remove one side of his jaw,but was confident that they had removed all of the cancer.When they were sure that everything was o.k. they would fit a plastic replacement and he would be as good as new,just a small scar along the jawline.The doctor wanted me to tell
Harry,"he would trust you more than us old fogeys" was how he put it.
I was ushered into Harrys room ,he looked bizarre,one side of his face was sunken right in,his mouth was filled with a set of stainless steel teeth and half of his lips were sewn together.I tried not to look horrified,I don't know how I got through those first moments,But Harry,oh Harry,he was great.When I had finished telling him what the doctors had in store for him,he was so enthusiastic.He did'nt feel sorry for himself,he had not a shred of self pity.He could'nt wait to get out of there and get the next 12 months over with so that he could get his face back.I went to see him every week,the people in the shop sometimes gave me cigarettes to take him,but he was quite happy just to have chat.
I had Wednesday afternoons to myself now,no Harry or Bernie to hang out with.
I succeeded in getting a date with one of the Woolworths girls though.It was Mick who asked her for me,her name was Eileen and she was beautiful.We went to the Lyceum,had a love seat and kissed the faces off each other.I kissed her all the way home,but never attempted anything further than that.Jeez,she dumped me!She thought I was ....slow.
One Friday night I came home from the flicks and my Mum let me in with the words "Theres a big surprise for you in the living room" I looked in and did'nt see anything,the door swung open and behind it stood Harry.I was ecstatic,he was still half jawed, but he was out,he came back to work,but Sid kept him out of sight in the backroom.Harry did'nt care,he never liked working on the counter anyway.
We picked up our old routine,no dancing this time,but we still went out,mostly the movies but occasionally for the odd,illlicit pint.
Harry was quite comfortable with his appearance,it would come as shock to those who had'nt seen him before,but most of the girls in the village were never bothered by how he looked,in fact one night we pulled a couple of crackers at the Empire.I really loved the way the girl who sat with Harry ,treated him no differently from any other guy,she cuddled him and made him feel good..
I think of him often now,unbeatable,never once complaining,and always looking to the future.
It was coming near to my sixteenth birthday when Mum told me she was going to get me something special this year,a tailor made suit! Mr Duggan,my dads tailor was coming to measure me up ,and I could pick my own material.
It took about six weeks to make,I had three fittings and it was tailored to perfection..It was done in a dark blue with a red birds eye that seemed to change colour when you moved.I felt like the Duke of Bootle,all I needed was a Duchess..
Quote:
Originally Posted by shytalk
WHAT!!
You can talk about 'hows your father' and 'one, two, buckle my shoe' on the old sailors home board ???
More intriguing tales from Brian.
OMG ! I could see it all in my minds eye - the accident with the blade :shock:
- and poor Harry - I'm very glad no one treated him any differently, and I'm glad he got a kiss and a cuddle :) :)
AS I sit and write these few words,I wish I could change the course of events as easily as one creates a story.......but this is not a story, it is a tale of lives ,and loves,that I played an acting role in all those years ago.
We are now at the summer of 1958,me and my new suit are getting as many outings as possible.I dont do much dancing now,Harry was conscious of the effect his appearance would cause in a dance hall,so it was mostly the movies for us two. I did go the Winter Gardens on my own one Saturday night ,a new rock and roll group were on,this was before the Beatles,but this group were going to be famous,or so it was said.They were so good that I can'y recall a thing they played ,or even what they were called.I only remember them for what happened that night.
The Teddy Boy fashion was still booming,most of my old classmates from Garston were at this dance,with their D.A.'s , full drapes and drainpipes,they looked a very colourful bunch and their girl friends looked great in their swirling skirts, and those wonderful suspenders that were flashed as they did a twirl.The band were tooled up with the latest in electric guitars and had a fabulous drum kit.The lead guitarist thought he was gods gift to women,he stood there ,on stage,ogling and winking at all the girls. Joey Fergo was there with his girl and I could see he was getting cheesed off with the guitar player.The interval came and the guitarist went to the toilet,followed by Joey.
When the band resumed their places on stage,the guitarist was standing there with a big black eye.He played the rest of the session with his eyes fixed firmly on the floor.
During the summer I made renewed efforts to get myself to sea,Wednesdays would find me making my way round to the Pool and the Norwegian shipping office,and then, Bingo!! One Wednesday, Mr Brown in the Shipping Federation gave me application form to take home and get filled in.
Mum said that Dad would never agree to my going away,I tackled him,I could not see why he would not let me go..He said I was too soft,all of his seagoing relatives were hard men,they had to be he said."You wont last 5 minutes on one of them boats,you'll be coming home crying to your mother,forget it lad",and so on and so on.I persuaded my Mum to forge his signature and sent the papers off.I was so excited ,I could'nt wait to tell everybody.My boss ,Sid, tried to persuade me not to go,the big boss, Mr Kearns came to the shop and gave me a little talk on how I would be so much better off stopping where I was and what a great future there was in butchering.I was deaf to it all,until,until........I told the girls in the cake shop that I was off to sea and little Annes face changed so much ,she was brushing away a tear!!
The managress told me to stop messing about,Anne had been waiting for me to ask her out!!!!!!!!! I was astounded,the girl of my dreams actually liked me.We only had time for a couple of dates before I went off to the training school.We were innocent and our relationship was boy and girl,I would'nt have dreamed about doing anything of a carnal nature to Anne,she was sweetness personified.Apart from Harry,those few short weeks with Anne were happy ones.
I felt really guilty about leaving Harry,still do after all these years,telling him was very hard,he never questioned my decision,but the look on his face told me it all,what did the future hold for him?
For the moment ,I was greatly preoccupied in getting my kit together for the sea school ,I had to go to a place called Sharpness.There I would be trained in the art of seamanship at the Sea Training School,Vindicatrix.
By now Dad was reconciled to my going off and started to tell me of some of the things that happened to him during his time in the army.
As the time drew nearer for my departure, I went up to see if I could make contact with Ronnie Moore before I left,it had been ages since I had seen him and I was curious to know how he was .Well,life for him was on the up,he'd met a very nice woman,also called Mary,she loved his boys and was going to marry Ronnie so that she could bring them up as here own.She was as different from the other Mary as snow White was from Rose Red.Dark and earthy with a very placid nature,I became their babysitter once more until it was time to go to the sea school.
Those last few weeks at home passed by in a blur,I was in a state of waiting and wondering,what will the training school be like?Will it be full of of hard knocks and no goods?The only people I could ask where away at sea,and they were'nt great fighting men ,best not to take any notice of Dads scare stories.
The week before I went away,Harry got taken into hospital,I went to see him after the operation,they had removed the rest of his jawbone.
He was sitting up in bed when I walked in,his head slumped forward on to his chest,he looked up and smiled,there was only half a face but he was smiling.
He could talk,albeit with great difficulty,and he told me that they had removed the rest of his jaw so that they could fit a complete new one.
He was indomitable,a lesser man would have been self pitying,not Harry,he could'nt wait to have his new face ,he would be off chasing those girls again.
When I got to work I told the staff of how things were,but they were not as concerned as I had been.I went to Woolworths and one of the Supervisors asked me where Harry was ,when I told her she asked for details and I thought she would send him a card. How wrong I was.
When A. found out I was going,she said I could find out all I wanted to know about women from her.Mum chased her off with a mop,laughing as she called her a dirty cow , another night of tossing and turning,literally!
That last day,I got a few little gifts and a lot of kisses from the ladies at the shop. On my last trip to the bank,I gave the girls in the cake shop a wave as I passed by ,I heard my name called behind me as I was heading for our shop,I turned,it was Anne,she kissed me and gave me a little present,"Don't forget me,please write",she turned and ran back to her shop.There was a little keepsake wrapped in a piece of paper that bore her address.
Monday morning found me in Central station,meeting up with some other boys to catch the train that was to take me to the beginning of another life.
30th november 2007
Brian Daley
So , there I was ,standing beneath the clock in Central Station, the sun was shafting through the glass skylights ,the smoke and steam from the waiting engines swirling upwards to the roof. I saw Mr Brown from the Pool standing with two other lads , they looked in my direction as I walked toward them. We three were bound for the National Sea Training School at Sharpness in Gloucestershire ,and Mr Brown was there to see us off.
Leaving home had not been easy , the longest I’d ever been away since reaching adolescence was a week, and that was with the school at the Isle of Man. This time it was different , I was going away for three months, and then going away for who knows how long?
Travelling to town on the Crosville to catch the train , I looked at everything as though for the last time .All those years of wanderlust were now about to become a reality . Aigburth Road looked trim and green in the autumn sun , soon we were down into town and at the station ,the sadness of leaving the family behind me ,the excitement of a new life ahead before me.
Mr. Brown, introduced me to the other boys, George and Alan ; they were roughly the same age as me and were from the same kind of background.
Our train was at the platform getting up steam and we were soon aboard and in our compartment as the engine shuddered into life .The whistle screamed ,great clouds of steam enveloped Mr Brown as he waved us goodbye from the platform and we were off.
Alan and I had both volunteered to go for a sea career , George was there at the behest of some official or other. He was a very likable young man, he suffered with the same kind of problem that my Granddad had, he was troubled with a speech impediment. Certain words caused his tongue to get stuck and he struggled to get them out . He was’nt at all embarrassed by his “problem”, if anything ,he was angry with it and asked us both to bear with him if we saw him get stuck. I could not but admire him , he was a gutsy fellow.
By the time we reached Gloucestershire we had each of learned a little of each others lives ,Alan and I were from similar backgrounds, George had had it tougher than both of us and he was determined that he was going to master that impediment before we came back!
When we changed trains at Gloucester a crowd of other lads got aboard, they were from the West Country and Wales , our small party was now a very big party.
We arrived in Sharpness in the late afternoon, the sun was still up and we could see that it was a bit different from Liverpool ! I fully expected Will Hay to appear on the platform, it was just like the station in “Oh , Mr Porter “ Standing at one end of the platform was a man in full merchant navy officers uniform ,he had a big beefy face with a nose like an old fashioned doorknocker ,with him were some lads our age ,in full battle dress uniforms.
They were in dark blue outfits and had crossed anchors in red on the sleeves , shiny black boots and white puttees. “Crikey “ I thought ,”It’s the bloody navy!”
We piled out of the carriages in a heap and the officer stood ramrod straight watching this untidy melee. “Right Lads !” he barked,” form yourselves up into columns and we will march up to the camp !” There was a great deal of shuffling and , with the assistance of the uniformed boys ,we formed some sort of order and proceeded up to the sea school.
We could see the docks and the river , it was the Severn , everything seemed very orderly on the route to the school. It seemed like an army camp , as we approached we could see a boy on sentry duty at the gate. When we were inside the camp we were met by more uniformed lads and one of them, who we found out later was the Senior Bosun , approached us and got us to line up ready for induction. That boy was so smart we thought that he must have been there for years. He had red lanyards and a kind of red scarf, crossed anchors , boots that shone like polished glass and gleaming white puttees. You could have sliced bread with the creases in his uniform so sharp they looked. We three looked at each other and wondered , was this what we were expected to look like.?
Little and by degree we were all enrolled , all save one that is ,just as the officer, Mr Wright was finalising our paperwork, a large black Daimler limousine braked gently to a halt outside the gatehouse. Mr. Wright looked out on the scene and started to shake his head in disbelief ,we turned to follow his gaze and saw the cause for his dismay. A young blonde , curly headed lad was getting out of the car, he was accompanied by a very aristocratic looking lady and an army officer, he was covered in ribbons and his hat was laden down with scrambled eggs.
He was a Brigadier. Oh , that poor lad ,what a start for him , he immediately became a “target”, but more of him later.
We were divided up into our categories after all the paperwork was done , the catering boys to one side and the deck boys to another. Fortunately ,we three were put in the same hut ,ther were about twenty or so of us in there ,all new , and all from different parts of the country .
There were two rows of double bunk beds and just inside the door was the officers cabin,the officer in charge of our hut was Mr Scott ,or Scotty as we came to know him.
After grabbing what bunks we could it was off to the Vindicatrix itself for our evening meal.
The “Vindi” as she was more familiarly known was an old sailing ship that had been built many ,many years before, she had had an illustrious career ,having served under the German and British flags as she sailed upon the oceans of the world ,and here she was now,moored alongside the quay on the Sharpness canal .
As we newborn babes made our way to the gangway we were very much aware of the hundreds of pairs of eyes that viewed us……..hungrily, as prey!
“New Boyyyyy” the low cry went up , following us along the quay and up the gangway ,”Neww Boyyy” we looked at each other, “You’re never goin’ ‘ome !”
We huddled like lambs to the slaughter, beset on all sides by the unseen callers of our doom.
The mess deck was ahead of us now and we saw some boys in blue candy striped blousons , our waiters! They waved us to our places in this cavernous room. There were ranks of tables filling the space ,enough for a couple of hundred boys ,for now there were just us new boys.
Two lads came to our table ,they looked like something out of Dickens; “It’s sea pie for tea new boys , you can ‘ave a second portion for a fag “ It was the Artful Dodger and Smike.
We were loaded ,we had our packets of Woodbines and Players Weights ,we gave them some cigarettes anyway,we did’nt want their dinners for them. We had a lot to learn………
Dinner was served ,Sea Pie ,none of us had ever seen anything like it ,we could’nt begin to guess what was in it , it was pushed around the plates ,lifted up on forks and inspected,poked and prodded ,but I think that I was the only one to empty my plate . There a bit of a commotion as one the deck lads who had been working near the galley ,rushed in and gobbled up as much of the uneaten food as he could manage. Hmmmmm, we were beginning our education.
Before we were sent back to our huts to unpack we had to go to the quarterdeck to be given a little chat by the assistant Captain ,Mr Poore. Whilst awaiting his entrance ,we were told to squat around the bulkheads (walls) and make ourselves as comfortable as possible. There were a lot of us and we staring to make conversations when some of the boys who were due to leave came amongst us. These were the guys who had been barracking us ,one of them ,a huge lad from the Scotland Road area of Liverpool loomed menacingly over us .”Got any smokes New Boy ?” he would demand. Boy after boy sheepishly proferred their packets to him.
He had a mean ,wolfish look about him and was clearly the cock’o the walk. Suddenly he was standing above me , I tried to make myself invisible , there was no way I could take him on “Where was that bloody Captain?” “ where are you from New Boy ? “ he asked ,thrusting his face into mine. I looked away. “I asked you where you’re from New Boy ! Answer!” he demanded . “Garston “ I croaked . “I’m going to have to teach this new boy some manners “ he growled . My stomach turned to liquid,well ,my Dad had warned me that I would’nt last 5 minutes and it looked like he was going to be proved right . “On your feet new boy “ he shouted, as I was about to offer myself to his beating ,a soft West Country voiced said “ Woy don’ yew pick on sumwun yore own soize boyo ?” My head swivelled round .as did everyone elses , to see a stocky little youth ,one of the new boys ,standing there ,arms akimbo, cool as you like . “ Oo are yew pickin foights wi kiddies ? Like to troy sum wi’ me Borr ?” The Bully slid away and we were not bothered again. Not for three years ,but we’ll come to that later.
I wish I could remember my , our , saviours name , he was a very plucky West Countryman ,the same type who man lifeboats and look fear in the face without flinching.
That night in our hut there was much debate about whether this was the life for us , I was staying no matter what , there was no way I was going back to Liverpool now.
It was strange spending that first night in the hut ,the bunks were steel framed with wire springs and had flock mattresses . We were issued with blue sheets and a couple of blankets and pillows ,you never heard such whinging , “Not like me bed at ‘ome “,” Sheet’s are rough” “ Not enough Blankets!” and so on ,and so on .For me ,it was an improvement !!
I fell asleep dreaming of tomorrow.
Brian,
Only just found this thread - but read it beginning to end. What a powerful memory you have - you're about 8 years older than me but a **** sight sharper mentally.
Lots of chords struck for me.
When we moved from Speke in 1961 we moved to Allerton, just by Gilmour school you went to. I went to Blessed John Almonds and many of my classmates came from the tennies you lived in.
Also have memories of Stanley Park as my uncle lived right by it and we used to visit.
Alexandra Rd in Llandudno stikes yet another chord as my wife stayed there on holiday pretty much throughout her childhood.
Also joined the Merchant Navy and also ended up in the midlands - near Wolverhampton.
Keep 'em coming!
Kevin
Wow,got a bit of a gremlin in the works there folks,how it happened ..I don't know,but it has multiplied itself by the power of 20. Can it be fixed ? I really must apologise for the snafu. Let's hope the next one goes on wiyhout any hitches,
BrianD
I seem to be going haywire tonight ,I have'nt had a drink even,but I just posted an apology for fouling things up with my posting and fouled that up
as well. I'm getting too old for this;by the way Kevin,thanks for your kind words ,who knows our paths might have crossed when you were a kid . You'll have to post some of your sea stories , they're always welcome,
Cheers ,
BrianD
BrianDaley, Click 'edit' and delete the extra posts then click 'save changes'.:PDT_Aliboronz_24:
Shy, Lindy and Co.
Thanks for your help ,as you can see ,I got it sorted!!
Ciao,
BrianD